Meatballs: Marvels and Mutinies

A good meatball is like a soufflé: if it isn’t perfect, it just isn’t. I have been thinking about what makes a good meatball recently. A meatball, as simple as it is, evokes some sort of excitement in me. They are like little gastronomic gifts. The anticipation of having one, the smell of making them and the rush that the first bite brings is almost euphoric. But, conversely, an imperfect meatball is like a birthday with no cake – it just looses its significance.

I began thinking about meatballs in two different ways the other day. The first was in the anticipatory form of receiving this gastronomic gift. I was having spaghetti and meatballs that night and knew the meatballs would be perfect. The specialty store in my neighborhood occasionally sells their own meatballs and they are so fantastic. On the other hand, the second way I found myself thinking about meatballs was about the regret or disappointment associated with a bad meatball.

One of my food sources told me about a bad meatball incident, and although his bad meatball experience is perplexing, my heart still mourned for his meatball loss. The incident concerned a poor choice in cheese or something to that effect. This story got me thinking about what makes a good meatball.

The ingredients in a meatball are somewhat standard. Although many recipes vary on ingredients, the vast majority of meatball recipes call for the following: ground meat, chopped onions, chopped garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley, an egg and salt and pepper. So just using these ingredients – what makes a good meatball?

When researching this blog, I polled several friends and family to get their sense on what makes a good meatball. The responses were very interesting and very similar. Many who responded to my poll said that using fresh herbs, like fresh parsley or basil was the key to a good meatball. Others said that the meat was critical. Most recipes I found while researching meatballs called for a meat medley of beef, lamb and veal. Most of the responses I received to my poll stated that a tender meatball, one made with three types of ground meat, is best. These responses also indicated that a good meatball is a meatball that can be cut with the side of a fork, never with a knife.

Others who responded to my poll discussed the use of breadcrumbs; some preferring less, some preferring more, and one preferring fresh breadcrumbs. But, the overwhelming majority of people who responded to my poll said that the meal is nothing without the sauce. It’s true – the sauce really makes the meal great. The way the sauce coats a meatball really does help create that euphoric experience. There are few finer gastronomic things than the smell of meatballs cooking in a pot of bubbling sauce.

So what makes a good meatball? Well, that is obviously a personal question as my poll indicates. But, for me, a good meatball is one that I can sneak from a pot of boiling sauce when no one is looking and sink my teeth into the tender meat surrounded by a roof-of-the-mouth burning sauce.

Until next time…